Bright Lights and Holiday Hikes

Whatever the holiday season means to you, we’ve got you covered. Time to hike in the brisk and piney mountain air? Gotcha. Take a hayride and meet the Clauses? Why not? Ogle the amazingest holiday lights in the whole dang country? Read on, Prancer!

Week: 12.13.2018
Regions: Southern CA

Empire of Light

Hike Riverside's Two Trees Trail and Visit the Mission Inn's Festival of Lights

Riverside’s Mission Inn has one of the most stunning displays of holiday lights in the US, but first things first: To really get in the mood—and earn your holiday treats, calorically speaking—take a quick-escape hike on nearby Two Trees Trail.
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Yosemite Discounted Winter Stay

Yosemite Discounted Winter Stay

1) Stay More, Save More Holiday season, weekend escape, a place to take your Valentine: Enjoy a winter getaway to Yosemite Valley Lodge, complete with spectacular views and delightfully good rates. Save up to 40% on the “Stay More, Save More” promotion. 2) Thunder Wonder The tall
Visit our sponsor Yosemite Valley Lodge

The Champion, My Friends!

Hike to Big Bear's Champion Lodgepole Pine and Visit Bear Valley Farms for the Holidays

If visiting one of the tallest Christmas trees in the world doesn’t put you in the holiday spirit, nothing will! We’re actually talking about Big Bear’s Champion Lodgepole Pine—a wild tree, not ornamented, but the festive feeling is still there. The 4.3-mile loop to reach it via
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Arboretum Season

Holiday Escape to Fullerton Arboretum

All is not always calm this time of year, but peace reigns at Fullerton Arboretum, a quiet 26-acre oasis in the middle of urban Orange County. It’s on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, and with most of the campus closed for the holidays, this is the perfect time to take a stroll
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Serene Las Gallinas

    A serene stroll alongside marshland, passing ponds and grasses frilled in seasonal wildflowers, with Mount Tam a beacon in the background … how nice. As part of the esteemed Bay Trail, San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Valley Birding Loop and Wildlife Ponds comprises about 3.5 miles of wide-open trail.

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  2. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

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  3. Sponsored

    2025 POST Wildflower Walks

    Get flower empowered! POST’s complimentary 2025 Wildflower Walks guide blooms with the best places to see a variety of florals across the Peninsula and South Bay this spring.

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  4. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

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  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

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  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

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  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

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